In large enterprise businesses, such as financial institutions or the like, it is imperative that the transfer of essential data occur in a highly secure environment. For example, commercial banking customers routinely communicate payment files and check image files to the financial institution on an ongoing basis and it is necessary to ensure that such data is transferred in a highly reliable and secure manner.
Currently, such transfer of payment files, check image files or the like requires the commercial customer to execute a transfer transaction using any of the various commercial file transfer applications in existence. These file transfer applications tend to be technology and/or protocol-specific or limited in terms of the technology and or protocols that may be implemented in order to ensure that the transfer of data occurs securely. In a large enterprise, such as a financial institution, which may provide numerous different services to a customer, each service may dictate a different means for transferring data based on the frequency and volume of data transferred, the security/risk associated with transferring the data and the like.
Further, in a large enterprise environment, the third parties (otherwise referred to herein as external entities) that transfer data to the enterprise will vary in terms of size and information technology sophistication. For example, in the financial institution environment, large commercial customers will generally have extensive information technology support, which is capable of setting-up, maintaining and properly executing all of the different file transfer applications required of the third-party. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, small commercial customers, most noticeably micro commercial customers, will generally have very limited, if any, information technology support and, as such, face many obstacles in being able to set-up, properly execute and maintain different file transfer applications.
Therefore, a need exists to develop systems, apparatus, computer program products, methods and the like that provide for technology-agnostic and protocol-agnostic means for transferring data between an enterprise, such as a financial institution or the like and external entities, such as commercial banking customers and the like. The desired systems, apparatus, computer program products, methods and the like should provide the user with an off-the-shelf solution that is applicable to all of the different services provided by the enterprise and provides the user/external entity with a streamlined means for transferring data to and from the enterprise. In this regard, the systems, apparatus, computer program products, methods and the like should allow for the external entity to immediately transfer data upon inception of the relationship with the enterprise and/or upon acquisition of a new service provided by the enterprise. Moreover, the systems, apparatus, computer program products, methods and the like should minimize external entity involvement from an Information Technology (IT) standpoint, such that any user can efficiently, effectively and reliably transfer data to and from an enterprise with minimal risk and high confidence.